Finding work in Portland, Oregon

February 13, 2006 12:30 AM

I am moving from santa cruz to portland. My girlfriend and I recently(4 months ago) had a daughter and the cost of living here is so high that we feel there is more opportunity for us up there. We have been invited to stay with my girlfriend's parents for a few months until we get settled, but i am concerned with finding a job that will pay enough to support us. I will be the sole earner so that my daughter will be able to have a parent with her all the time. Any suggestions? I need to make at least $15/hr ... I have been doing construction related work for the last couple of years but would like to steer away from that in favor of something not so hard on the body. I'd appreciate any comments...
posted by thatjackbuilt to grab bag (19 comments total)

While the cost of living is portland is lower than in Santa Cruz, there is very high unemployment in Portland. Here is the classified job search from Portland's paper, it will give you an idea of what is out there. It is hard to suggest work without knowing what your skillset is.
posted by sophist at 12:36 AM on February 13, 2006

i'm not too worried about finding some sort of work. i'm a quick learner and enjoy a challenge...it's just that i've heard all the horror stories about the economy in portland and wondered if someone had any creative solutions? i'm considering working for a year to establish residency and then going back to school for a degree in either health administration or architecture. i should have provided a little more info before...thanks
posted by thatjackbuilt at 12:44 AM on February 13, 2006

$15 an hour might be hard to find, depending on your skills. If you do construction work and manage to find a job there, it'll be atleast that. So you have something to fall back on. Warning: Weather here is not like Cali, and you may find yourself working in the rain quite a bit.

This is really a hard question. Minimum Wage here is $7.50. You are asking for double that. Basically the only way to make that is Construction, Upper Retail Management, or Skilled (Educated) Work. You might also be able to find some retail commission based sales of some sort, or unskilled Technical Industry (phone tech support, bleh) that will be lower then $15 but might bump you up after a year or two to that level. So, without some knowledge about your resume, this question can't be answered. Oh, and 'quick learner and enjoy a challenge' is what just about everyone says in an interview.

So, yes you will be able to find work, no, it probably won't be $15 an hour to start unless you have a background and arn't getting an entry level job in your respective industry.
posted by Phynix at 1:22 AM on February 13, 2006

Also, what skills does your girlfriend have? Can she do freelance editing or web development from home to supplement the income?

For that matter, are her skills more salable in Portland? Perhaps you could consider staying home with the baby.
posted by By The Grace of God at 3:05 AM on February 13, 2006

To be honest, there are lots of people just like you moving to Portland, so competition for the type of job you seek is pretty stiff.
You should also note that tuition at Oregon public universities is increasing at a decent pace and the state government is cutting aid to match.

Obviously housing will be much cheaper than Santa Cruz, but keep in mind that Portland is still pretty expensive for a single-earner family making 30k a year.
If you are planning on moving solely for economic reasons, I'd start thinking about relocating to the Midwest before I came to Portland.
posted by madajb at 3:19 AM on February 13, 2006

i'm considering working for a year to establish residency and then going back to school for a degree in either health administration or architecture.

Portland (PSU, anyway) is notoriously tight about granting residency, even if you've lived there for a year. I got my Master's at PSU and payed alien tuition for three years. Ten years later and I still have $25k in debt from that experience.
posted by mecran01 at 8:08 AM on February 13, 2006

Could your girlfriend do some childcare from home? I know several stay-at-home-moms who take care of another child in addition to their own at home. I don't know the going in Portland, but in Chicago childcare runs $8-15/hr. That way if you find a lower-paying job, you two could still stay afloat. Plus, as Jr. grows, she might enjoy having a playmate, and when she gets a little older (~4) it becomes a lot easier to entertain two kids than one, since they amuse each other. Good luck!
posted by bonheur at 8:57 AM on February 13, 2006

One of you might also pick up part time work serving in a nicer restaurant. No benefits, but pretty good money per hour. Portland seems like a great town, have fun.
posted by LarryC at 9:12 AM on February 13, 2006

Are you a journeyman in your construction-related union? Call them and see what the market's like. If you're not, and you don't have a professional skill set, start planning for life around $8 an hour working in call centres, and maybe $10 an hour if you find a cushy temp job.
posted by cmonkey at 9:13 AM on February 13, 2006

I was raised in Oregon, and the reason I'm on the east coast now is that finding a job after college in PDX was very, very difficult. The upside is that there's no sales tax and the cost of living is very cheap (provided you don't buy a house and aren't paying the state's absurd property taxes).
posted by Heminator at 9:34 AM on February 13, 2006

I'd do some research before jumping into architecture school. You'll be working incredibly long hours in school and earning discouraging pay 10-15 after graduation. If you really like the construction end, go to school for Construction Administration. You already have invaluable field experience, and it's a good earning, white-collar job.
posted by tfmm at 9:42 AM on February 13, 2006

By coincidence, here's a Portland newspaper article from three days ago related to the job situation:

But jobs for Katrina's Portland-based diaspora have been scarce. Willie Brown, a liaison hired to connect evacuees to services, said only about 15 have found work -- out of more than 130 who had sought help -- mostly in low-paying construction, carpentry, food service and office-clerk jobs.
posted by WestCoaster at 1:54 PM on February 13, 2006

Portland is a great town with a terrible economy. I'm doing pretty well, as I've been here for over ten + years and "know" people, but I worry for recent transplants. And as much as I enjoy living here, I worry about my own future job situation as well. I often finding myself looking at jobs back east. It'll break my heart, but if things don't show at least some sign of improvement, I'll pack up and go.
posted by elwoodwiles at 2:03 PM on February 13, 2006

Don't know how pay rates/unemployment compare East Coast to West, but my wife is a veterinary technician, and her hospitals are ALWAYS hiring, and the pay is pretty good. A degree and certification can be had at a 2-year school, which can significantly bump your hire-ability and pay up a few notches.

It is hard work, and can even be dangerous, but it is also very rewarding for her.
posted by Rock Steady at 2:35 PM on February 13, 2006

thanks for the comments everyone! it's reassuring that you all took the time to even answer...by the way, i happened to notice that Comcast was in the top 100 companies to work for in Oregon, but that Nike was curiously absent. i figured that a huge successful company with such a good benefits package would place high on the list in a region with such a supposedly terrible economy... what's the scoop?
posted by thatjackbuilt at 3:11 PM on February 13, 2006

The Portland economy isn't that bad. Don't let the downers talk you out of the move, Portland is a great city. I don't live there anymore, but I miss it. As far as getting to know Portland and looking for a job (or at least starting to think about it.) I'd suggest checking out the following:

The Oregonian - best place to look for jobs, I hate their online classified search UI but at least they have their listings online I guess.

Willamette Week - used to be the "cool" paper, now it's fighting for that label but still a good reference, not much as far a job listings go but something (plus they're always looking for people.)

Portland Mercury - the new "cool" paper, worth the read but not much as far as job listings go. Some though.

Good luck!
Portland Tribune - "the best non-daily paper in the nation" or something like that, not a great resource for jobs but good for a free non-daily.
posted by pwb503 at 5:52 PM on February 13, 2006 [1 favorite]

thanks for the links pwb503. i didn't know about the tribune, and upon checking it out found a large section entitled "Rethinking Portland"-all about the rising cost of living there and the need for more and better paying employment and the flight of families with children out of the city and into the suburbs...pretty much concepts i already knew about but with local opinions and links to homebuyers assisstance for low-middle income families. i don't want portland to become a "city without laughter" and plan on being one of the persons working for an alternative to a failing public school system(especially since that's most likely where my kid will end up)...
posted by thatjackbuilt at 8:22 PM on February 13, 2006

Hearsay, but I think it's really hard to get on at Nike, even if you are temping there.
posted by craniac at 8:24 AM on February 14, 2006

I've been currently looking for a job in Portland, being a recent transplant here from California and it has been a nightmare. I have a lot of marketable and verifiable skills (office work), but it seems next to impossible to get a job. The first tip I'll give you for looking for work is make sure you have a local area code on your phone number (503, 971, or 360), I never received a single call back when I had my old area code.

You're also going to have to overcome a bias against people from California. We're blamed for raising rents, driving like maniacs, and whatever else they don't like about Portland in the last the 5 years. I don't know if this actually plays a role in looking for a job, but don't have any allusions to being welcomed with open arms here.
posted by Mijo Bijo at 9:26 PM on February 15, 2006